Profile of Alan Knight on Famous Like Me

Alan Knight (born July 3, 1961) is a former English footballer. Born in Balham, London. Holds record for most appearances for a single club by a goalkeeper (801). He retired as goalkeeping coach of Portsmouth F.C. in the summer of 2005. Portsmouth was the club where he spent all but thirteen and a half months of his 25-year playing career. The period in question he was transferred to Havant & Waterlooville F.C..

As well as holding the above record, Knight is also the second-longest serving Pompey player of all time behind Jimmy Dickinson, and is also the only player to have appeared in all four divisions of the Football League for the club. He was capped at under-21 international level, but was never selected for the full England squad.

Known by the Fratton Park faithful as The Legend, he served Pompey magnificently from 1978 to 2000, and played in numerous memorable games, pulling off world-class saves to gasps of admiration from the crowd. The 6ft 1in keeper, who will be long remembered for his reflex saves, acrobatics and bravery in packed goalmouths, overtook in the 1990s former Chelsea star Peter Bonetti's record of the most goalkeeping appearances (600) for one club.

In all competitions, Knight went on to play an incredible 801 times for Pompey before finally hanging up his gloves to become the club's goalkeeping coach. His 800th appearance, as a substitute in a cup tie at Blackburn, saw fans in all corners of Ewood Park rising in unison to applaud his appearance on the pitch. A few weeks later, he played his last match for Pompey, at Norwich in January 2000. A year later, his amazing loyalty to Pompey received Royal acclaim when he was awarded a MBE in the New Year's Honours List.

Following retirement Knight stayed at Pompey and became a member of the coaching staff, but left the club in the summer of 2005.

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